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Under current guidelines, single women are barred from freezing their eggs, with assisted reproductive technologies only available to married women with fertility issues. In recent months, some provinces have extended childbirth benefits for unmarried women, and in the southwestern province of Sichuan province single women are increasingly undergoing IVF treatments in private clinics. SOCIAL STIGMALike many Chinese women, Xu spent her twenties and early thirties focused on career development, but was constantly reminded of women's fertility decline with age. "I think society should stop this stigma and recognise the diverse circumstances of single women, as well as their courage and independence." "I hope that all single women can achieve bodily autonomy and reproductive autonomy, and that everyone is allowed to have the space for making independent choices," she said.

Capvision said in a statement soon after the broadcast that it would resolutely abide by national security rules. The CCTV report was the first clear indication of the national security scope of recent police action against several consulting firms. "The state security organ and other authorities will intensify law enforcement against activities that endanger national security, such as illegal consulting," the state-owned Global Times said. The revisions will see all documents, data, materials and items "related to national security and interests" given the same protection as state secrets. The law does not define China's national security or interests.

BEIJING, May 8 (Reuters) - The Global Times, a hawkish Chinese state media tabloid, on Monday criticised a letter of protest sent to it by South Korea's embassy in China, the latest public spat amid worsening ties between the Asian neighbours. The South Korean embassy "expressed strong regret over a series of unreasonable slanderous articles" from the Global Times, in a letter of protest published Friday on its website. In its editorial, the Global Times slammed the embassy's "brutal interference in (its) independent reporting". South Korea's embassy in China did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a similar incident last December, China's ambassador in South Korea criticised Korean media for stoking anti-China sentiment.

The fifth of young Chinese without jobs among a highly-educated generation is a record. The number of master's and Ph.D graduates in Beijing exceeds undergraduates for the first time, education authorities said. "However, young people who really pin their hopes on the gods and Buddhas when under pressure are also clearly going astray." "I don't believe I will ever find my ideal job," said the urban planning graduate, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect her job prospects. "Why, instead of helping private enterprises develop, do you blame 11.58 million graduates for not taking off their scholar gowns?"

The protests, unprecedented in President Xi Jinping's decade in power, began in late November in cities across China. They were suppressed by police within days but helped hasten the end of three years of tough COVID restrictions, sources have previously told Reuters. The Ministry of Public Security and the Beijing Public Security Bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Human Rights Watch had reported the pair were among four protesters detained in December and charged with "picking quarrels and provoking trouble", which carries a sentence of up to five years. Reuters could not independently verify the total number of protesters who were detained by police or have been charged and remain in custody.

"The EU requested to the Chinese authorities their immediate and unconditional release," the spokesperson said. "China's ongoing crackdown on human rights activists and lawyers is a well-known EU concern, which we raise at all levels." Yu Wensheng, 55, is a human rights lawyer who last year completed a four-year prison sentence for "subversion of state power". He was among more than 300 rights lawyers and activists arrested in a 2015 crackdown. The EU delegation in Beijing said on Friday three other human rights lawyers, Wang Quanzhang, Wang Yu and Bao Longjun, had been placed under house arrest.

Four months later, 26-year-old Huang fled to Germany and decided to speak out in support of fellow demonstrators, some of whom remain in detention. "I feel like I need to speak up for Cao Zhixin and the other detained protesters... China has not commented officially on the protests, whether they triggered the end of the zero-COVID policy or subsequent detentions. He was then sat near the front of a police bus full of other detained protesters. "As long as one protester is still detained, the world cannot stop paying attention to the white paper movement."

[1/2] Sophie Luo Shengchun, the wife of jailed Chinese human rights lawyer, Ding Jiaxi, poses with a photo of him at her home in Alfred, New York, U.S., July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidBEIJING, April 10 (Reuters) - A Chinese court sentenced two prominent human rights lawyers on Monday to jail terms of more than a decade each, a relative and rights groups told Reuters, the latest move in a years-long crackdown on civil society by President Xi Jinping. "I will not let them put Ding Jiaxi and Xu Zhiyong in jail so easily." Hundreds of rights lawyers were detained and dozens jailed in a series of arrests commonly known as "709" cases, referring to a crackdown on July 9, 2015. China rejects criticism of its human rights record, saying it is a country with rule of law and that jailed rights lawyers and activists are criminals who have broken the law.

[1/2] French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech to inaugurate the Festival Croisements at the Red Brick Museum in Beijing, China, April 5, 2023. For Macron's visit at least, there are high expectations in Beijing. "In other words, not everyone wants to see Macron's visit to China go smoothly and successfully." Later in the afternoon, Macron and von der Leyen will separately hold talks with President Xi Jinping before all three hold trilateral talks in the evening. "Three-quarters of the delegation are business leaders: the goal is first and foremost to sign contracts," left-wing MEP Raphael Glucksmann wrote on Twitter ahead of Macron's visit.

Macron last visited China in 2019 while it will be von der Leyen's first trip since becoming European Commission president that year. However, some analysts said ostentatious deal-signing would appear opportunistic at a time of heightened frictions between the United States and China. "Both (Macron and von der Leyen) have not only business in mind but also Ukraine," said Joerg Wuttke, president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China. Macron and von der Leyen are expected to echo the message that Xi should also talk to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. China and EU decoupling will only serve U.S. interests, but make both China and Europe suffer," it said.

TOKYO/BEIJING, April 2 (Reuters) - Japan's foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said he called on Beijing for the early release of a detained Japanese national during a meeting with Chinese diplomat Qin Gang held on Sunday. The visit comes a week after a spokesperson of Astellas Pharma Inc (4503.T) said its employee was detained in China for unknown reasons. Although Japan and China have their differences, both agreed to restart trilateral talks with South Korea, Hayashi said, calling the agreement "an important achievement" from his meeting with Qin. "We agreed to continue communicating closely on various levels, including the foreign ministerial and leadership levels," Hayashi added. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit last November, marking the first leadership-level talks in almost three years.

☆ Oil spills and near misses: more ghost tankers ship sanctioned fuel
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jonathan Saul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

REUTERS/Ronen ZvulunSummary Risk of accidents in focus as 'shadow' fleet growsStirs fears of oil spills, decades after Exxon ValdezHundreds of ships carry oil from sanctioned nationsMany ship certifiers and insurers have pulled servicesLONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - An oil tanker runs aground off eastern China, leaking fuel into the water. Many leading certification providers and engine makers that approve seaworthiness and safety have withdrawn their services from ships carrying oil from sanctioned Iran, Russia and Venezuela, as have a host of insurers, meaning there's less oversight of vessels carrying the flammable cargoes. Reuters was unable to independently verify the numbers regarding the size and growth of the shadow fleet. The U.S. Treasury didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on ships carrying sanctioned oil. SHIP-TO-SHIP TRANSFERSAround 774 tankers out of 2,296 in the overall global crude oil fleet are 15 years old or more, according to data provider VesselsValue.

☆ Exclusive: China Energy places order to import Australian coal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Muyu Xu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

India's share of Australian coal increased to 15.7% in 2022 from 12.3%, while Europe's share increased to 8% from 4.6%, the Kpler data showed. "Australian thermal coal is of better quality and is expensive. Global prices of both coking and thermal coal shot up after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. Analysts and traders expect the return of Australian coal to challenge the market share of suppliers such as Russia and add to pressure on prices in the longer term. "Entry of Australian coal into Chinese markets could ease coking coal prices, which are currently on the higher side," an Indian coal trader said.

☆ Chinese hospitals 'extremely busy' as COVID spreads unchecked
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Staff at Huaxi, a big hospital in the southwestern city of Chengdu, said they were extremely busy caring for patients with COVID, as they have been ever since curbs were eased on Dec. 7. There were long queues inside and outside the hospital’s emergency department and at an adjacent fever clinic on Tuesday evening. “Almost all of the patients have COVID,” one emergency department pharmacy staff member said. Zhang Yuhua, an official at the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, said most recent patients were elderly and critically ill with underlying diseases. She said the number of patients receiving emergency care had increased to 450-550 per day, from about 100 before, according to state media.

In Beijing, hundreds of mostly young people demonstrated in the commercial heart of the city well into the small hours of Monday. Freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of arts, freedom of movement, personal freedoms. A security guard tries to cover a protest slogan against zero-Covid on the campus of Peking University in Beijing. “Open your eyes and look at the world, dynamic zero-Covid is a lie,” the protest slogan at Peking University read. At Tsinghua University, another elite university in Beijing, hundreds of students gathered on a square to protest against zero-Covid and censorship.

Beijing/Hong Kong CNN Business —Workers at China’s largest iPhone assembly factory were seen confronting police, some in riot gear, on Wednesday, according to videos shared over social media. Videos of many people leaving Zhengzhou on foot had gone viral on Chinese social media earlier in November, forcing Foxconn to step up measures to get its staff back. Numerous complaints have also been posted anonymously on social media platforms — accusing Foxconn of having changed the salary packages previously advertised. Searches for the term “Foxconn” on Chinese social media now yield few results, an indication of heavy censorship. A vital hubThe Zhengzhou facility is the world’s largest iPhone assembly site.

☆ Guangzhou Covid-19: China locks down key transportation hub; markets fear economic fallout
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN Business —China has locked down a major transportation hub in the south, as the country’s grapples with its largest nationwide Covid outbreak since April. The lockdown also follows rising cases in Beijing, which reported the country’s first Covid deaths in nearly six months. Asian markets and oil prices slid on Monday as investors fretted about the prospect of China re-tightening Covid rules. Guangzhou, one of China’s largest cities with nearly 19 million residents, imposed a five-day lockdown in Baiyun district, which is home to one of the country’s busiest airports. Goldman Sachs analysts said Monday that the latest news on China’s Covid management has been “confusing” to investors.

Hong Kong/Beijing CNN Business —More than 100,000 people have signed up for a massive recruitment drive by Apple’s supplier Foxconn for the largest iPhone factory in China, according to Chinese state media. And our hiring process is now closed temporarily,” a Foxconn executive, Yang Han, in Zhengzhou told state news outlet Yicai on Thursday. Some local governments in Henan have recently also asked community officials to join the production line themselves, according to multiple Chinese state media reports. Several unidentified such officials, also known colloquially as local “grassroots officials,” or “cadres,” told state media publication Cailian Press Tuesday that they were told to work at the Zhengzhou campus from one to six months. “We now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated,” the tech giant said in a statement earlier this month.

CNN Business —Apple has limited the use of the AirDrop wireless file sharing function on devices in China, just weeks after reports that some protesters had used the popular feature to spread messages critical of the Chinese government. Users not in China face no such restriction and are able to receive files wirelessly from anyone, including people who are not contacts. Apple (AAPL) told CNN Business the new feature will be expanded globally in the coming year. Reaction in Chinese media to the software update was mixed. But others criticized Apple on Chinese social media.

“All of the members are committed to net zero, particularly many developing countries who certainly have a lot of issues to deal with. But all of them are committed,” Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Jin Liqun told CNN’s Becky Anderson in an interview Tuesday at UN climate summit COP27. China is the world’s largest carbon emitter of fossil fuels, but has committed to net zero goals by 2060. He did not mention China’s coal sector, which produces much of the country’s methane emissions, in addition to carbon dioxide emissions. China produces the most methane emissions from coal mines in the world, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

☆ What happened to former Chinese leader Hu Jintao?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Analysis Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

China's former leader Hu Jintao is lifted from his chair by a young aide at the closing of the Communist Party Congress on Saturday. Neither has the incident been reported in Chinese language media, or discussed on Chinese social media, where conversations around senior leaders are highly restricted. Former Chinese leader Hu Jintao is taken by the arm and escorted out. “For whatever reasons, Xi ordered Hu to be escorted out when he must have thought that Hu might not behave exactly as Xi would have wanted,” he said. Former Chinese leader Hu Jintao pats the shoulder of his protege, Premier Li Keqiang.

“My forecast is for a further decline of 1.2% [on a quarterly basis for China’s GDP]. China’s GDP declined 2.6% in the second quarter from the previous one, reversing a 1.4% growth in the January-to-March period. Economists polled by Reuters have expected China’s GDP to expand by 3.4% in the third quarter from a year earlier. Many international organizations, including the IMF and World Bank, have recently downgraded China’s GDP growth forecasts for this year. Bennett expected the third-quarter GDP data to be released after the Party Congress.

☆ Here's why Xi's subtle gestures during speech worries people
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

During Xi Jinping's almost two-hour speech at the opening ceremony of the Communist Party Congress, the Chinese leader paused several times to clear his throat and sip tea. CNN's Beijing Bureau Chief Steven Jiang explains why the subtle gestures have some observers concerned.

☆ Chinese researchers clone an Arctic wolf in 'landmark' conservation project
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Cnn'S Beijing Bureau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

"After two years of painstaking efforts, the arctic wolf was cloned successfully. The Arctic wolf, also known as the white wolf or polar wolf, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to the High Arctic tundra, in Canada's northern Arctic Archipelago. Sinogene launched its Arctic wolf cloning project in 2020, in collaboration with the polar theme park Harbin Polarland, it said in a statement posted on the Twitter-like platform Weibo. The company said in its Weibo post that a second cloned arctic wolf is expected to be born soon. The cloned Maya is now living with her beagle surrogate mother, and will later be housed in Harbin Polarland, open to the public.

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